UPDATE: 154 treated for heat in Manassas; no serious injuries reported

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Riders and their horses are braving the hot temperatures today at the Manassas re-enactment. Credit: KATHERINE CALOS
Spectators filled the stands for the re-enactment of the First Battle of Manassas this morning. Credit: KATHERINE CALOS

By: Katherine Calos | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: July 23, 2011
Updated: July 23, 2011 - 7:44 PM

745 p.m.

GAINESVILLE -- Manassas battle reenactment day proved much hotter than the original clash, when the high in Georgetown, the nearest weather station at the time, was 81.

The morning high in Manassas was 97, with a heat index of 106, and the mercury topped for the day at 100 at 4 p.m. with an index of 110, the National Weather Service said tonight.

No serious injuries were reported, but by nightfall officials reported that 154 people had been treated at first-aid tents for heat-related problems and 10 were seen at hospitals and released.

(This has been a breaking news update. An earlier update is posted below. Read more in tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.)

GAINESVILLE -- The 150th anniversary Civil War reenactment of the Battle of First Manassas began just before 9:30 this morning with thousands of reenactors and spectators enduring historical accuracy and historic heat at Pageland Farm adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park.

Organizers had signed up 8,700 reenactors. Confederate commander Jake Jennette said 5,700 had asked to be Confederates, so each would fight in only part of the 2-hour reenactment.

Re-enactors who were "killed" or "wounded" were told to move off the field instead of staying still in the hot sun until the battle is over.

By the time the morning reenactment was over, first-aid tents had assessed 76 patients for mostly heat-related injuries and sent six visitors or reenactors to area hospitals for treatment, an official said. None were believed to have been seriously injured.

Soldiers were on the field for varying amounts of time until about noon to reenact the first major battle of the Civil War on July 21, 1861.

Spectators filled the bleachers, stood along the sidelines, sought shade under a few small tents behind the Confederate lines and discovered that one of the closest views of the final action was behind the bleachers looking underneath – in the shade, no less.

The re-enactment, which will be repeated Sunday, is the highlight of a weekend of living history and other programs that has drawn thousands of people.

(This has been a breaking news update. Check back for more details as they become available. Read more in tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.)